Winter Just Wasn't My Season
by completewithtypos
Summary: Clarisse doesn't like winter. But maybe she has a good reason for it? Clarisse and Joe, honestly what else do I write? Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Winter Just Wasn't My Season

_A/N: This story was inspired by the song lyric in "2am," and the fact that I hate winter. I'm not sure how far I'll go with it. I've just realized that this is kind of the opposite of CrtJester and LittleObsessions' "In the Winter." And I adore that story, so it was not my intention to write one so similar, sorry. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this, and please review._

"I'm kidnapping you," Joseph announced as he walked into his wife's office one morning.

"Oh, are you?" she replied, tilting her head up for a kiss as he came to stand beside her.

"Yes," he said matter-of-factly. "You're working too hard."

"Joseph, as much as I would love to go with you, I have to meet with Sebastian Motaz about…"

"I was under the impression that Mia was queen now." Joe said moving to stand by the window.

"She is, but she's only been the queen for three months Joseph. She still needs help." Clarisse tried to reason with him.

"And you can't spare me one day? Winter is coming soon and we…"

"I know." She interrupted and her tone made him stop short.

"What is it, darling?" he asked worriedly, crossing the room to her side again.

"You know how I hate winter." She told him softly. Joseph pulled her out of the chair and into his arms.

"Yes, I know. But darling we're together now. Have a little faith, maybe this winter won't be so bad."

"I have a bad feeling though every time I think about it. It's almost as though this, what we have now, is too wonderful, and I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop." She sighed, leaning against him more.

Suddenly, Mia bounded into the office with Sebastian Motaz and Charlotte not far behind. Joseph loosened his grip on Clarisse, expecting her to pull away and install herself behind her desk. She didn't however, instead wrapping her arms tighter around him.

"Parliament session is finally over!" Mia exclaimed, then noticed the expression on her grandmother's face. "Grandma, are you okay?"

"I'm all right, Mia. I'm just a little out of sorts today, that's all."

"Sebastian," Joseph said, addressing the Prime Minister, "Would it be possible to postpone your meeting?"

"No, Joseph." Clarisse looked up at him.

"I'm not taking no for an answer." He told her gently, but firmly.

"Of course we can reschedule, Your Highness." Sebastian said, then abandoned the formality as he so often did, " You look like you could use a day off, Clarisse."

"Oh, all right!" Clarisse relented, turning to Charlotte. "Charlotte, could you clear my schedule for the rest of today?"

"Already done, ma'am." Charlotte replied.

"Already done? You were set on kidnapping me, weren't you?" Clarisse said, looking up at her husband, mildly amused.

"Yes, and now you have no reason not to go along with it," he said smugly.

"So where are you taking her?" Mia asked, grinning at her grandparents.

"That's for me to know and you to find out when we return." Joe said mischievously.

"Oh, fine!" Mia said, pretending to pout childishly. Everyone laughed and Joseph said, "Come along darling. It's nearly twelve o'clock." He drew his wife towards the door.

"Have fun!" Mia said, as they said their goodbyes and left. "He's up to something." She said to Charlotte and Sebastian.

"Perhaps," Sebastian mused. "What do you think, Charlotte?"

"Maybe he just wants to spend time with his wife." She said "I'm sure you'll find out when they return."

OOOOOOooooooooOOOOOO

"Joseph, where are you taking me?" Clarisse asked for the millionth time. They had taken one of the smaller limos, just the two of them. Joseph drove, Clarisse beside him.

"I told you, I'm not telling!" he said. She turned to look out the window, and the car was silent for a few minutes.

"The leaves are almost all gone."

Joseph didn't know how to respond to that, so he kept silent. When he parked the car on the beach, he turned to face her. Tears were streaming down her face. Hurrying out of the car, he came around and pulled her into his arms. "Darling, what's wrong? What are you thinking about?" he asked, worriedly.

She clung to him and whispered, "Not thinking, Joseph. Remembering."

_The cold November wind whipped through twelve-year-old Clarisse's hair as she stood on the beach behind her house. Why did she have to go to the opera with her parents? Why couldn't she go to the movie theater with the other girls? Clarisse heard the rustle of her mother's dress behind her, but didn't turn around._

_"I'm sorry you're upset, darling." Her mother said over the crash of the waves. "But believe me when I tell you that the opera will give you a much more cultured background, and that will prove useful to you."_

_"Why can't I go to the cinema like a normal girl? All my friends are going to see 'State of the Union' tonight." Clarisse said, then shuddered at how childish she sounded._

_"Darling, I'll make a deal with you. If you don't like it, I'll take you to see the movie tomorrow. Just the two of us, okay?" her mother said._

_"All right." Clarisse said, turning to face her mother._

_"You're going to love it, Clarisse. Madame Butterfly is my absolute favorite." Her mother exclaimed as she led Clarisse back inside._

Clarisse and Joseph were sitting on the beach now, his back against a rock and she, lying in his arms her head on his shoulder. Joseph wondered what had caused her to fall apart. She had told him the story of her first time at the opera, but she had never mentioned her mother.

"Then what happened, darling?" he asked, smoothing a hand over her hair, "What has you so upset?"

She was silent for a moment. Then, hugging him tighter, she took a deep breath to begin again.

_"Mother, it was wonderful! I just adored it!" Clarisse gushed as she left the opera house with her parents._

_"I'm glad you liked it, darling. I knew you would." Her mother replied._

_"I'm sure the movie was nothing compared to this," Clarisse said as she climbed into the backseat of the car._

_Her father slid into the driver's seat, having given the driver the night off. A light rain began to fall as they began their journey home. It was nearing midnight and Clarisse made herself comfortable in the backseat. She could feel herself beginning to drift off to sleep. Her parents were talking softly in the front seat but about what she didn't know. Nor did she care. Clarisse was being lulled to sleep by the steady swishing of the windshield wipers. The last things she heard were the rain on the glass, the low murmur of her parents voices, and then, her mother's bloodcurdling scream._

Joseph felt Clarisse shudder, and tightened his grip on her. He couldn't decide whether or not this trip to the beach had been a good idea. Joseph almost didn't register when she began to speak again, he was so caught up in the worry that he had caused his wife unnecessary pain.

"Joseph, this isn't your fault. It has nothing to do with coming here." She said softly.

"You read my mind again. How do you do that?" he said in an equally hushed tone.

"I know you too well." She replied.

"Never." He told her, smiling gently.

"I've been thinking about this night for a few days now."

_Clarisse awoke to find herself in a strange place. All around her she saw white. Suddenly, she figured out where she was. A hospital. But where were her parents? She tried to sit up, but was scolded when a nurse bustled in._

_"You just like back down, miss. You're going to hurt yourself if you sit up too soon." She said, coming to Clarisse's bedside. _

_"Please," Clarisse said, "Can you tell me what happened?"_

_"It was an accident. Some drunk rammed into your car at an intersection. Of course he walked away without a scratch. It's always the innocent that get hurt the most…" she trailed off, realizing that she was rambling._

_"And my parents? Are they all right?" Clarisse asked anxiously._

_"Your father is fine just a bump on the head like you." The nurse stopped, looking nervous. Clarisse's father entered behind her. "Oh, sir! You shouldn't be up and around yet."_

_"I have to speak with my daughter," he said, his eyes red, and his voice rough._

_"What's wrong, father?" Clarisse asked, "Where's mother?"_

_Her father came to sit on the edge of her bed. "Darling, I don't know how to say this. Your mother, she got hit the worst. She… she didn't make it."_

Clarisse was sobbing again. Joseph held her as tight as he could, wanting more than anything to take away the pain she was feeling. Though he suspected that she had never talked about this with anyone, and that this release of tears was a good thing.

"I'm so sorry, my darling. I had no idea. If I'd known I would never have brought you here." Joseph said apologetically.

"Don't be sorry," she choked out. "Thank you, Joseph."

"For what?"

"For being here. For loving me. For just being you."

"I'll always be here, love. Nothing can separate us now."

_A/N: I promise that there will be less back and forth in the chapters to come. I wanted to set up the general idea of the story. Please, review! Lizz_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Joseph didn't know how long he sat on the beach holding his wife. He'd left his watch in the car. Time was one thing that they had so little of, and he didn't want to spend it counting down the hours. She had long since calmed, but he could feel that she wasn't asleep, just not ready to let go of him yet. Their silence was not an awkward one, but a silence between two people who know each other so well that words were not a necessary form of communication.

"Joseph," she said aloud suddenly.

"Yes, darling?" he replied.

"Joseph, will you help me build a sandcastle?"

He smiled down at her. It was an odd request that he wasn't quite sure he understood, but, "Of course, I'll help." He told her.

Clarisse pulled herself up, and using a rock for support, she stood. Looking out over the ocean for a moment, the wind blew through her hair, and she seemed to be completely peaceful. Then she turned back to Joseph, who was still sitting on the beach staring at her, with an expectant grin.

"Well?" she said, impatiently.

Joseph held out a hand. "Help me up." Clarisse laughed and reached down, wrapping her delicate fingers around his wrist, then pulled. Joseph laughed as she nearly fell over herself in her effort to get him on his feet.

"So, my dear, why the sudden interest in sandcastles?" Joseph asked his wife, his eyes sparkling.

"Mother and I used to make them all the time." She said, her shining eyes the only sign that anything was amiss.

"I used to make them with my older brother before he joined the army." Joseph told her.

"Really? I didn't know that. You never talk about your family, Joseph. Why?"

"They're all gone now, darling. Julio, he was killed in the army. My mother and father were old when they died, and my sister Maria had polio. She didn't live to go to college, and she would done so well. It's such a waste."

"I'm sorry Joseph, I didn't mean to upset you." Clarisse said, embracing him tightly.

"It's all right. Now, we were building a sandcastle weren't we?"

They spent the next hour, trying to build a sandcastle. This proved to be a difficult task with only their hands, and at last after much laughter and throwing sand around, they stepped back to admire their lop-sided masterpiece.

"It's lovely. A true work of art." Clarisse giggled.

"Sand art." Joseph agreed. "Just like you!" he chuckled at his wife, so regal, even completely covered in sand.

"Speak for yourself! You're wearing more sand than an hourglass." She retorted, and began to brush herself off.

"I think we had better go home and change," Joseph said, holding out a hand to Clarisse. She accepted it, and they made their way back to the car.

Upon reaching the palace they laughed to themselves about the looks they were given by the staff, who were shocked to see their proper former queen tracking sand through the corridors. After changing in their suite, Clarisse and Joseph wandered in the direction of Mia's office to tell her that they were home.

The door was open when they reached it and they heard voices coming from inside. Entering the room, they found Mia seated behind her desk, Charlotte in the corner and an all too familiar woman comfortably lounging in a chair.

"Grandma! Joe! You're back!" Mia exclaimed, smiling when she caught sight of them.

"Splendid. We can have a proper reunion now." The woman drawled from the chair.

"What are you doing here Lottie?" Joseph asked Rupert's older sister, unconsciously slipping his arm around Clarisse's waist.

"Why, I heard dear Clarisse had married again, so I thought I'd drop by." Lottie replied, and only Joseph caught the shiver that ran down his wife's spine. He tightened his arm around her.

"We haven't heard from you in…years. So much catching up to do! I'm sure you're exhausted from your trip, why don't you rest awhile before dinner." Clarisse suggested, smiling falsely.

"Oh, that's sounds heavenly, I'll see you all in a little while." Lottie replied, and rose, smirking at the couple near the doorway as she swept out of the room. As soon as she was gone, Clarisse slumped against Joseph. He wrapped his arms around her and gently placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Where'd she come from?" Mia asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose. That woman had given her a headache.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Clarisse said from where she now sat, curled up against Joseph on the sofa.

"Lottie is Rupert's older sister, the troublemaker of the family. She wanted to be Queen, but at that time, the eldest male child was the heir to the throne. She always felt cheated, and resented Clarisse from the moment she entered into the family." Joseph explained.

"So my inviting her to stay here was not a good idea? Boy, I wish you'd come back about fifteen minutes sooner." Mia sat back in her chair.

"Maybe she won't stay very long?" Charlotte put in from her corner.

"Charlotte dear, don't hide in the corner, you're practically part of the family." Clarisse admonished, and Charlotte shyly came to sit in the chair that Lottie had vacated.

"Darling, are you all right?" Joseph asked, looking down at his wife.

"I'll be fine, Joseph." She smiled up at him, hugging him just a little bit tighter. "She can't hurt me now."

_A/N: Many apologies for the cliffy…I simply have no friggin clue where I'm going with this. I did however decide that the poor Viscount is over-worked and under-paid so we needed some new villains to help him out. Please review, and if you've any plot suggestions, the box is over there points down to the little purple button Thanks! L_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Lottie swept into the dining room well after everyone else. She gave them an apologetic, though fake, smile.

"I am _so _sorry I'm late. It's been so long since I was here, I simply couldn't find my way down here. I do hope I haven't held things up too much." She said in that awful nasally voice she had. Clarisse inwardly cringed, as she was assaulted by memories, and reached under the table for Joseph's hand. Beside her, at the head of the table, Mia was clinging to Nicholas too. She'd invited him to dinner for support.

"It's all right, Lottie. No trouble." Mia lied as the waiters arrived to serve dinner.

Lottie dominated the conversation, asking questions that really were none of her business. Joseph watched Clarisse's face, noticing how she grew paler after every endless question or comment about Nicholas giving up the throne, or Clarisse marrying him. At last, Lottie retired for the night.

"Are you okay, Grandma? You look awful!" Mia exclaimed as soon as she was out of the room.

"I'm all right, dear. Just tired."

"No, you're not all right." Joseph said. "Come on, I'm taking you upstairs and putting you to bed." He stood and pulled her up with him.

"I'm not a child, Joseph." She protested weakly.

"Go to bed, Grandma. I think I'm going too." Mia said, not quite suppressing her yawn.

"Does Lottie always have this effect on people?" Nicholas asked.

"Why do you think she never married?" Joseph retorted, making Nicholas and Mia laugh.

'Well, hopefully she won't stay long. That was the most awkward meal I've had in a long time." Mia said, standing. "I challenge you to a game of pool." She told Nicholas.

"You're on." He replied.

They both said good night to Joseph and Clarisse then took off for the game room.

"Come along, darling. Bedtime." Joseph said, wrapping an arm around his wife and pulling her in the direction of their suite. She didn't complain, just leaned into him and let him herd her upstairs.

Once they were in their suite, Joseph steered her into the bathroom, bringing her a pair of pajamas to change into. He changed into his own pajamas and waited for her to emerge from the bathroom. At last she did, wandering over to stand in front of him.

"Talk to me," he said softly, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Tell me what's wrong."

"You know." Clarisse told her husband, holding on to him tightly. "You were here, you saw how she made my life a living hell. And I just have this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that she's about to start all over again."

"That's where you're wrong, my love. I won't let her." Joseph said, lifting her chin to kiss her tenderly. "Now my dearest, you need to get some rest." He told her, releasing her and pulling back to covers for her. After crossing the room to turn out the light, he climbed into bed beside her. Clarisse snuggled close to him, her head on his chest, his arms firmly around her. Safe and warm, she drifted off to sleep.

_"Are you ready?" A voice hissed in her ear. Clarisse turned, careful not to wrinkle the wedding dress she was wearing to see Lottie standing beside her. _

_"Yes," Clarisse told her, fighting to retain her composure. Just the presence of the older woman frightened her a little. She was to marry Rupert that day, and in time become the queen of Genovia. _

_"Are you sure? Because you can back out right now. I'll help you change, you can take my car and be over the border into France in an hour. Are you sure this is what you want, Clarisse? To spend the rest of your life tagging along after my brother? To produce heirs, then be cast aside like dirty laundry? Because that is what's going to happen." Lottie taunted._

_Clarisse looked around for someone else to talk to, to get this woman away from her, but they were alone in one of the side rooms in the church. Swallowing her unease, she smiled brightly at Lottie. "Yes, this is what I want. And Rupert wouldn't do that to me. We're friends."_

_"Friends?" she sneered, "Sweet, naïve, Clarisse. You just wait." _

_The sound of the door opening made them turn. Clarisse's bodyguard, Joseph stepped into the room. Lottie gave them both a sweet smile and left. _

_"Are you all right, Your Highness?" Joseph asked her._

_"Yes, I'm fine. And please, it's just Clarisse. If you're the one walking me down the aisle today, the least you can do is use my name." she said, turning to stare out the window._

_"As you wish."_

_Later that night, at the grand reception in the palace ballroom, Lottie cornered Clarisse on the terrace. _

_"You went through with it. I warned you not to. Rupert has a reputation for going through women like Kleenex."_

_"Why are you telling me these things?" Clarisse asked shakily, then was calmed a little when she caught sight of Joseph lingering in the shadows._

_"Because," Lottie drew herself up to her full, domineering height and whispered icily. "You got my job."_

Clarisse awoke with a start, shaking at the memory of that night so long ago. Joseph was awake a moment later.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, feeling her trembling.

"I had a dream, about my marriage to Rupert…"

"And Lottie was in it." He finished for her, pulling her close to him.

"Yes, that night was the first time I felt that she could really be dangerous. And you, you were there, protecting me."

"As always," he said gently.

"You knew she was dangerous?" she asked.

"Yes, darling. Rupert warned me about her."

"He did?" she looked up at him in surprise. Joseph nodded. "I don't understand."

"He knew she was jealous, and knew that she could be dangerous. He couldn't through her out of the palace because she was his father's favorite. Also, he could never catch her doing something wrong. She was too clever." Joseph told her, holding her tighter as he felt her shiver at a memory. He knew it was the one that still plagued him from time to time.

The one time he had almost failed the love of his life, and lost her for good.

_A/N: Oooh, it's a cliffy! And yes, I know that Kleenex are a completely modern, completely American tissue, but I just don't care. Oh, they don't belong to me either. Sorry for the wait, I was really stuck on this chapter. Please review! 3, Lizz_


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